One Door Closes
by Blood-Countess-Bathory
Summary: Dracula kills Van Helsing before he gets killed.  Anna and Carl have to go to Rome to tell the Church of his death, and meet a new alli.  Dracula also meets an new woman, what will happen next?  Please read and review, my first fanfiction, ever.
1. Death

**Ok, so, in MY story, notice the word my, Aleera didn't die, and the mirror that Anna's ancestor created, yeah, only good beings and dead, not undead, just totally not coming back to life ever dead people can get back to the other world, a.k.a: Anna's house. So, yeah, if you read, enjoy.**

"Don't you understand? We could be-" Dracula checks to make sure he doesn't trip over the step he knows is coming, "We could be friends! Partners! Bothers-in-arms!" he said, voice deepening as he transformed into his bat-like shape.

The werewolf grabbed Dracula by the throat. He desperately clawed at the claw blocking his breathing, but to no avail. After what seemed like a lifetime to him, the grip started to loosen and the werewolf changed back to the familiar shape of Van Helsing. He looked terrified, but before either of the two men could do anything, a familiar voice rang out.

"Van Helsing," Anna yelled. His head shot left to see if she was in danger. She thankfully wasn't, but before he could turn back to face his enemy, Dracula attacked. He lifted his claw and striked Van Helsing across the throat. At first, Van Helsing's face showed surprise, but quickly turned to pain. Anna could do nothing but stand and watch in horror as the man she loved died. He collapsed and fell off the bridge he and Dracula had been standing on. Dracula transformed back to his human form, and Anna ran to Van Helsing. She let him lay as she gently cradled his head in her arms. His breathing was fast and heavy.

"Anna," he breathed, "take," he paused to breathe, "care of-" he doesn't get to finish his sentence. His breathing stopped and his eyes glossed over. She started to sob over his now stiff body. Carl walked in and saw Dracula walking at a brisk past towards Anna.

"Anna, look out!" he yelled. Anna, whose shirt was mostly covered in blood, looked up at Carl, who was pointing at something behind her. She followed the finger's path, drew her sword and impaled it through Dracula's chest.

"Get out of here!" she screamed at Dracula who had a malicious smile on his face. After taking the sword out he did as he was instructed. As much as he wanted Anna, he knew this was not the time nor place.

Carl walked over and dropped the stake he was carrying. He looked at the pale man who had once been his friend, now he was nothing more than a corpse. He bent down and closed Van Helsing's eyes. He looked at Anna and stood up. Her back was facing him and her head was hung.

"We must give him a proper burial," the friar said sadly, walking over and placing a hand softly and caringly on her shoulder.

"I know," were her only two words. She left Carl to carry Van Helsing and made her way to the mirror. After fifteen minutes of waiting, Carl showed up dragging Van Helsing on his coat. She didn't care, just as long as his body was with her. She walked through the mirror and Carl followed.

He didn't want to break the silence, but he felt he had to. "Anna, we must tell the Order about Van Helsing's death. They need to know," he said sadly. Anna stopped in her tracks, but didn't turn around to face him.

"What makes you think I want to talk to the people who sent him on this mission?" she whispered maliciously. Her head was turned slightly to the right and her arms were crossed.

"I understand you don't want to, but I am telling you that at least I must return, and I think it would be nice for them to know that the Valerious family is still alive and able to kill Dracula," Carl said dully. The real reason he wanted her company was because he was frightened to face the order alone

"Carl, I cannot kill him. Only a werewolf can, and unless the Order can find me a werewolf, then I am not going," she snapped and started to walk away slowly.

"Wait!" Carl called after her. She turned sharply and stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "The Order does have a werewolf. They kept it for testing after Van Helsing brought it in," he said kindly and happily.

Anna stared at him for a moment before deciding. "Fine, I will go with you. First we bury him," she said, visible tears forming in her eyes.

"Of course," Carl said sympathetically and walked away. Anna walked over to Van Helsing's body and kneeled beside it. She started to move the stray hairs away from his eyes. She went to one of the washrooms and brought back a damp towel. She went over his face to wash the dirt off. The tears that had started to form now fell freely down her face. She suddenly wiped them away and smiled sadly.

"I will see you again," she whispered and kissed his forehead. She picked him up and carried him to a spare bedroom. She gently set him on the bed and adjusted his hair again. She left the room and closed the door behind her, still smiling sadly. Carl walked by and felt it best not to ask what she was smiling about.

When he got to his room he said a prayer, then got in the bed and started to cry. His best friend-the only one who ever understood him- was dead, and nothing could bring him back. They were to bury Van Helsing tomorrow, and leave for Rome shortly after. His thoughts were what put him to sleep.

"Carl, Carl wake up," a gentle female voice said sweetly. At first he pulled away from the hand on his shoulder, but was too tired to pull away completely. He instead cracked his eyes open. Anna was standing there, seeming patient, but he knew she wasn't. He fully opened his eyes and smiled as well.

"What time is it?" he asked groggily. He felt as if it was early, and he hated waking up early.

"It is past noon. We have been waiting for you to wake up so we can bury him," she said as nicely as possible. Carl then sat up quickly and got out of bed. As much as he wanted to keep his friend above ground, he knew both their souls would never have peace if Van Helsing wasn't underneath it.

"Let's go, the sooner we do that, the sooner we can go to Rome and leave this hell behind," Carl said angrily between clenched teeth.

"What about Frankenstein?" Anna asked suddenly. She had forgotten about the monster completely. She knew it was wrong to think of him as a monster, but he scared her, and she couldn't think of him as anything else after he brought Dracula's children to life.

"He can go his own way," Carl said thoughtfully. "He has already served the purpose Dracula wanted him to, he should be safe," he finished and let Anna lead him to the burial site.

When they arrived, the four people started to lower the coffin into the freshly dug hole. As they did this, Carl read a short passage from the Bible. Anna lowered her head during his reading as a sign of respect for him and for Van Helsing.

"May God let him rest in peace," Carl finished softly. Anna crossed herself and they left together. The coach was all ready to go. Anna jumped onto the seat and took the reigns. Carl situated himself next to her and they departed.

Castle Dracula

"I have children, and one bride. I need more," he told himself while pacing in front of a blazing fire. The heat that radiated from it was wasted on him. He finally sat in one of the black leather chairs in front of the fire. He stared at the dancing flames that were licking the wood.

'Why do I spend so much time on things that do not matter to me?' he thought to himself. He had always loved fire. It was filled with rage, and made by simple men in their weakest moments. He was not a simple man though, he wasn't man at all. He had just killed the legendary monster hunter Van Helsing, and he was sitting in front of a fire.

His thoughts were interrupted by the clicking of heels on the cement floors and went to the window. The noise stopped and he took to the skies. He wanted, no, deserved more, and that's what he was going to get: More.

**So, hope you enjoyed, if you did, please drop a review in the review box, if you didn't enjoy, drop a review in said box as well, so. . .yeah.**


	2. Rome and Brides

Carl and Anna stopped just before they hit the forest. The sun was setting and Anna knew the dangers of stopping in the forest when the moon's light was shining. 

"Carl, perhaps you should sit in the carriage for a while, you need some sleep," Anna said sympathetically. She knew the friar was being strong by dealing with Van Helsing's death. He had only cried when it first happened, and had remained silent after the burial. He nodded his head and opened the door.

"You don't need to be strong, he was your friend, that warrants crying," Anna continued sadly. She resumed her place on the seat and Carl climbed into the closed wagon. He lay down in the seat. He started to think of all the times he had had with Van Helsing. This was the first mission he had ever gone on, but he had always made his weapons personally, and talked about former missions.

_"Carl, Carl it's not working!" Van Helsing yelled as he ran from the attacking vampires. Carl's invention worked perfectly, except for when he needed it the most._

_"Try aiming at their hearts!" Carl yelled back at him. He ran to the bags, got an extra round of arrows, and threw it to Van Helsing, who caught it and jumped out of the course of one of the flying vampires. The vampire grabbed the cow instead of her intended target, and screeched as she let of it and flew off to prepare for her next attack move._

Carl let out a small laugh as he remembered how terrified he was when they first fought the vampires. Then he thought of a time when he was even more scared.

_As Carl walked out of the mausoleum he said, "I'm sure this is some sort of sin?"_

_"Don't worry, God will forgive us, and we've got to save Anna," Van Helsing replied while locking the doors._

_"Do you think the hat is a bit much?" Carl asked as Van Helsing struggled to lift and move a concrete crucifix in front of the doors._

_Ignoring him, Van Helsing yelled, "Carl help me!"_

_Carl looked over to Van Helsing, "Oh right," he said hurriedly and quickly shuffled over to help his friend. "How many commandments can we break in one day?" he asked, looking at the crucifix, which looked as if it had been torn off a gravestone. "Anyway, from what I read in my reading, you won't turn into a werewolf until the rising of your first full moon, which is two nights from now. Even then, you'll still be able to fight Dracula's hold over you up 'till the final stroke of midnight."_

_"Sounds like I should have nothing to worry about then," Van Helsing joked as he walked through the graveyard towards the castle._

_"Oh my God, you should be terrified," Carl said in a high voice._

_"Thank you Carl," Van Helsing said dully, putting his mask on._

That memory drove tears to form in his eyes. He was so concerned about his costume and the transformation that he barely remembered what Van Helsing had said. Then he remembered the actual ball.

_Van Helsing and he stood on the balcony and scanned the room for Anna and Dracula. Carl spotted them first and pointed them out to Van Helsing. He then looked for something they could use to get Anna back. He noticed fire breathers and a pair of acrobats._

_"Carl, I'm going to need you to do something," he said, making his plan up spontaneously._

_"I'm not going to like this am I?" he asked nervously. He usually didn't like being involved in plans, but he looked at Van Helsing waiting for answers._

_Carl made his way through the crowd and approached his target. Dracula and Anna danced their way to him, and the timing could not have been more perfect. The fire breather started his trick, Carl came up behind him and pushed. His body folded in half and the fire hit Dracula in the back. His cloak set ablaze immediately and then he threw the fireless man across the room to his death. He ran away before anything could happen to him, knowing Van Helsing safely got Anna._

Carl had tears streaking his face. He was alone now. No one would help him through life, not that he needed help, but it was always nice to have some. He wiped his face dry, closed his eyes, and tried to sleep. NO matter how hard he willed his tears away, they kept coming. He ended up crying himself to sleep.

Anna heard everything faintly. She heard what sounded like a chuckle, then sounds of crying. She missed Van Helsing very much, but she missed her brother more, so why had she shed more tears for Van Helsing? She didn't know, but she did know it had to stop. She had to be on full alert al the time to ensure she didn't get killed.

So far it had been a quite night, and, after Dracula's actions, she expected to be left alone for a couple of nights at least. She took in the cool night air. It was good to get out of Transylvania for once.

**Meanwhile . . .**

Dracula walked through the empty alley. His mission was to find a new bride. Every house he had been to that night, the people inside were still conscious. He expected nothing less though, the sun had just gone down. Nonetheless, he didn't want them to raise an alarm.

His senses were on high alert as he heard someone running in his direction. He saw it was a young girl and decided to give her a chance, so to speak. She had long black hair -it reached to her lower back- fair skin, and bright blue eyes, and she was very slender. In his eyes, she was almost perfect. He stepped out of the shadows.

The girl looked at him with surprise. Taking into consideration that this girl wasn't frightened, or trying to get away, Dracula figured she didn't know who he was, so he decided to play with her a little, figuratively speaking. As usual, he was the first to speak.

"Forgive me if I startled you," he said lowly, barely above a whisper.

"It-it's alright," she said with an English accent. She looked the stranger up and down. She noticed he wore nothing but black, and his shoulder length onyx hair was tied up behind his neck with a few strands framing his face. She only glanced at his eyes, but she did see a brilliant shade of blue, she would have guessed icy blue, but that was impossible. "Do you have an idea where I can stay the night?" she asked suddenly, think this stranger could help.

"I own a castle, you can stay there for free, my dear," he said. "Only if you want to, I shall force nothing upon you," he added quickly after seeing her face show some fear suddenly. The last statement seemed to do what he wanted.

She gave him a small smile and nodded her head. "I would love that," she said bashfully. She had been to Transylvania before -to visit family- but she had never met someone, anyone, so generous.

"May I ask your name my dear?" he asked nicely, extending his hand for her to take. She blushed and took it, and wrapped her arm around his. She noticed his hand was very pale and cold.

"My name is Leila," she said shyly. There was something different about this stranger, and she was going to find out.

**Two weeks later, Rome**

"He's dead?" the Cardinal asked again. He couldn't believe his best hunter, his only hunter, was dead.

"He is dead. Dead as in underground, pulse less, dead," Anna said tiredly. He had been asking questions for an hour, and many were the same.

"Cardinal, the fact is, Van Helsing is dead, and Dracula is still alive. And the only thing that can kill him is a werewolf, and we need one," Carl said forcely.

The Cardinal looked at him in shock. He didn't know Carl could ever be so fierce. "We still have the one Van Helsing took from Hungary. He's a little angry still," he said, leading them to the holding cells. "Here he is, you can talk to him if you like. I'll leave you alone for a while," he said after leading them to his cell.

"What do you want?" the man said meanly from the corner. Carl stepped back, but Anna held her ground.

"My name is Anna, this is Carl," she said nicely while pointing to Carl as she said his name.

"My name is Dughall," he said, walking to the bars and offering his hand to Anna, who took it and shook.

"We have something for you to do, you might enjoy it," she said, taking her hand back from the dark skinned man. He smiled and waited to hear what it was they wanted him to do.

**Ok, Leila is pronounced Lee-la, and Dughall is pronounced just as it is written. Leila means dark haired beauty of the night, and Dughall means dark stranger. Anyway, I know a lot of people read the first chapter, and I only got three reviews, I loved them, But I would love for more of you to review. So please? Even if it is a flame, it's still a review, am I correct? Anyway, drop one in the review box (aka: push the purple button) and let me know.  
B-C-B**


	3. Tours and Such

"How has your room been treating you, my dear?" Dracula asked Leila again. The past two weeks she had been staying with him and Aleera. She thought of Dracula as very nice and hospitable, and Aleera gave her an uneasy feeling. Aleera always glared at her as if she would eat her if she got hungry.

"Again, it has been wonderful. Thank you," she said with a smile. He always asked when she woke up. He thought their schedules worked perfectly. She was sleeping when he went out, and when he slept, she was out. "Oh, and I was hoping that perhaps you could give me a proper tour of the village," she added as an afterthought. Her face was glowing with anticipation. He needed his sleep, but he didn't want to disappoint her either.

"Not today, Leila, I have some business I need to attend to. Perhaps I can give you a tour tonight?" he replied hopefully. Before that night in the alley, he thought she was wonderful, but now that he knew her better, how smart and charming she was, he couldn't live in death without her, and certainly not alone with Aleera.

She smiled and nodded. "I'd love that," she said happily. She wasn't as intelligent as he was, but when they got into an intellectual conversation, she loved what he had to say. They always had those kinds of talks when they went on walks. She did think it odd that all their walks took place at night, but she ignored it. She never did believe in vampires.

**Rome**

"You want me to kill Dracula?" Dughall asked. He scratched his hairless head, and thought about it. "You understand I've heard horror stories about him, correct?" he asked unbelievably. What they were asking him to do was nearly impossible to do.

"You understand I've lived in Transylvania my entire life, and I'm still alive," Anna replied nicely. She was keeping her patience with him; he didn't do anything to her, so why should she do anything to him?

"And you are a female, which is twice as impressive," he said as nicely as something like that could be said. He rested his head in his hands. He considered what he would be gaining if he did this. Assuming he wouldn't die, he would be free, he would get a safe place for the full moon, and the Order would supply him with any meat he would need. On the other hand, he could die, and to him, death was better than watching life go on from behind prison bars.

"Fine, I'll do it, but on one condition, if there is a cure, I want it," he said, standing up suddenly. Anna was extremely happy and couldn't control herself. She jumped out of her seat and hugged the taller man.

"Thank you so much," she said happily. Dughall stood there for a second, not knowing what to do, but hugged her back anyway. She broke the hug and asked, "Do you have anything you need to bring with you, any personal items?" He shook his head sadly.

"The Order took all my belongings away when _he _brought me here," he said, and spat the word 'he,' referring to Van Helsing.

"We can take care of that," Carl said, walking into the room. He was carrying two large but full bags of, what Anna presumed, weapons. He stumbled a little, and dropped the bags on the table.

"Carl, are you sure we need all of those?" Anna asked, bending over to help him get back on his feet. "I do have weapons at the manor," she implied to the friar.

"Yes, well, what if we are attacked on the way there? I'm just being prepared for the worst," Carl said, actually making a point. Dughall was obviously new to all this, and looked scared.

"If we get attacked, I will deal with it," Anna said, trying to comfort Dughall. "Remember, I have been doing this for a long time," she added with a smile. He eased up a little. There was something about Anna's voice that calmed him down.

"How long of a trip is it to Transylvania?" he asked, changing the subject so he wouldn't back out now. He put all thoughts of fear into the back of his mind.

"It took us around fourteen days to get here, and we stopped only twice, and that was to let the horses rest," Carl explained. "I'll go put the bags in the carriage," he said and walked out of the room. Anna and Dughall heard a slight crash, followed by a slur of curses.

"Perhaps you should go help him," Anna said and Dughall walked out of the room. Shortly after, the Cardinal walked in.

"We need to talk," he said and closed the door. He looked at her gravely. "I know you came across the Frankenstein monster. Did Van Helsing destroy him?" he asked rather quickly.

"No, he didn't. Van Helsing said he wasn't evil, so he could not kill him. Although I assure you, I tried to kill him," she said rudely. She disliked the Cardinal, he always asked about missions, and most of the questions were directly linked to Van Helsing. He sent Van Helsing on this suicide mission, why did he care so much?

"When you return, destroy him. If the werewolf doesn't kill Dracula-" he suddenly covered his eyes. "Carl!" he yelled.

"I am so sorry sir, but they were all over, I had no choice," Carl said quickly as he ran in. He was a bit red, and Anna laughed slightly.

"Who were all over Carl?" Anna asked, knowing what he meant. Her moment of laughing had ended.

"Vampires, but they're dead now," he said as he beamed, obviously proud of himself. He had finally killed vampires, well, this was the second time, but now he was used to it.

"Were they Dracula's children?" Anna asked quickly. If it were the children, which it most likely was, then she knew Dracula would resume his search for the monster, and as much as he frightened her, she couldn't let that happen.

"Yes, and I killed them single handedly," Carl said, still very proud of himself. He was disappointed that no one was proud of him as well. The Cardinal then looked at Anna, and they nodded to each other. She knew what she was expected to do.

**Transylvania**

"Do you believe in vampires Leila?" Dracula asked as they walked around the now empty village. He was interested in what her thoughts of his kind were.

"I think they are a story to keep little children from going out at night," she said with a smile. She was looking at the sky, and missed Dracula's shocked face. He could tell tonight would prove to be an interesting one.

"Why do you think that?" he questioned further. Although he was shocked that she thought his kind were some sort of fictional character, he was still interested to hear as to why she thought that.

"Where I grew up, I was told that story every week. When I turned fourteen, I heard it being told, and the old man said that vampires could take the shape of anything they wished. I knew nothing could change shape, so I stopped believing. I became a rebel of sorts, going out at night with friends, cutting our palms open to attract them. Nothing ever happened, but I have scars to prove that some things did," she said, showing him her palms. There were diagonal scars in each, and on her right it made an 'x.' "Do you believe in vampires Vladislaus?" she asked, turning her attention from the sky, to her hands, to him.

"Actually I do. I have for as long as I can remember," he said, returning her gaze. He looked down at her eyes and saw confusion. "Where I grew up, at least one body was found drained of all blood once a week," he explained.

"I guess that would make sense," Leila said, smiling. "People are entitled to their own opinions," she added. She like being around Vladislaus (he asked her to call him Vlad, and she was working on it). He always gave her a sense of security she had never known before. Her face relaxed into a grin, and Dracula could do nothing but stare at her.

"What's on your mind?" he asked curiously. He had seen many faces from humans, but contentment was never one of them. He had also never gotten to know a woman before either. He knew this woman was changing him, but couldn't resist.

"I was thinking of you. How you make me feel safe, and how no one has ever made me feel that way before," she said. She had been so interested in their conversation, she didn't realize they had reached the forest. Leila looked around and laughed. "Can you believe we're in the forest?" she asked, still smiling. She looked up at the sky and closed her eyes. She slowly breathed in the cool night air and felt a light drop on her cheek. She lifted her hand to see what it was, and was surprised to discover it was snow. Her smile widened as the snow started to fall faster and thicker.

Dracula wanted to make her his right there and in that moment, but knew she had to discover that vampires were, in fact, real creatures. Her arms were lifting in the air on either side of her body, and Dracula couldn't resist. He grabbed her hands lightly, and was pleased to find Leila was gripping his hands lightly as well. He drew her closer to him, her face still directed at the sky. He watched in silence as she lowered her head to look at him. Their bodies were close enough that Dracula could feel her body warmth, something he longed for. He leaned closer to her, and she did the same.

"What are you two doing here?" a shrill voice asked before their lips could join. Dracula looked over at Aleera and let go of Leila's hands.

**Okay, I know more than two people are reading this story, and I love you both for reviewing, and we'll be seeing Frankie soon. But the next couple of chapters are going to be in Transylvania with Dracula, Leila, and Aleera, because there's not much to do when people are traveling. And when we see Anna next, she will be letting out some of those bottled up emotions. But please, review if you read this, it would mean the world to me. Literally. You guys know the drill, C.C. is welcome, flames are welcome, and the simple, 'I liked it,' is welcome. Thanks, and any questions, ask!  
B-C-B**


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